荔枝视频

Do you know what your morning coffee comes with a side of? Plastic. From the cup a Tim鈥檚 iced coffee comes in, to the food at lunch 鈥� all served with a side of plastic cutlery.

Plastic has become so ubiquitous that often people don鈥檛 recognize when it is being used. These types of plastics often cause widespread pollution at their end-of-life stages. This comes at a significant cost to society which has induced a multinational effort to find plastic alternatives.

At first glance, it might seem like reducing the use of disposable plastic cutlery and bottles at the 荔枝视频 may not make a big difference, but multiply that across the campus, and it does; , and much of that waste is single-use plastic.

Goal for 2030

U荔枝视频 is currently developing a plan that aims to see 90 per cent of its waste diverted from landfills by 2030 through reducing the total amount of waste produced and increasing composting and recycling rates on campus. The goal is to meet (and exceed) the federal government鈥檚 through waste-minimization and diversion. Advancing a culture of responsible consumption on campus is critical for meeting this target.

鈥淯荔枝视频 aims to be a Canadian post-secondary leader in waste-diversion practices; however, to achieve U荔枝视频鈥檚 approach to becoming zero waste, buy-in from the entire campus community is required,鈥� says Michael Love, U荔枝视频鈥檚 director of caretaking.

If we all work together, we can create a culture shift towards more responsible consumption habits at U荔枝视频 and beyond.

This , a worldwide initiative to draw attention to the issue, we highlight a research project that will inform U荔枝视频鈥檚 approach towards .

Kruti Mukesh, MSc(SEDV)鈥�20, says she became passionate about reducing plastic pollution after hearing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau鈥檚 June 2019 announcement on Canada banning single-use plastics. "Every time I walk around campus, I see forks and spoons littering the place, all of which ultimately increase our environmental footprint," she says. "And then I heard about how plastics are infesting our oceans and I decided to try and do something about it."

Study aims to reduce campus waste

With the support of , PhD, of the Haskayne School of Business, Mukesh is now is leading a research project, partnering with campus stakeholders to identify ways to reduce single-use plastics on campus, such as by, for example, encouraging students and faculty to bring their own reusable cutlery and drinking mugs or bottles.

Stakeholders include Facilities Management, U荔枝视频鈥檚 Office of Sustainability and a Haskayne faculty member in the Sustainable Energy Development program. Through her research, Mukesh has learned that 鈥渟takeholders would like single-use plastics to be replaced by 辫谤辞诲耻肠迟蝉.鈥�

The focus is currently on food vendors at MacEwan Student Centre and elsewhere across campus, says Mukesh, who began the project as a volunteer and was later hired as a research assistant by Herremans. This project incorporates various methodologies for learning, which has provided Mukesh with the opportunity to engage in experiential learning for sustainability through the program. Mukesh says that 鈥渂ringing together stakeholders for this project, allowed me to develop my project management and stakeholder engagement skills.鈥�

鈥淎t U荔枝视频, food vendors and customers in the MacEwan Student Centre are large consumers of single-use plastic,鈥� says Mukesh. These vendors are primarily managed by Aramark, the Students鈥� Union or Ancillary Services. U荔枝视频 also has one beverage supplier 鈥� Coca-Cola.

Search for alternatives

Conversations with vendor managers are focusing on potential alternatives to plastic bottles such as aluminum cans and ways to reduce the economic impact for both the university and its vendors. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many food businesses have been experiencing financial hardships, which creates a challenge in adopting alternatives to plastic since they are often more expensive.

Mukesh says she is 鈥渃ommitted to finding solutions that are feasible, inexpensive and sustainable,鈥� adding that 鈥渨orking to establish realistic deadlines to provide considerable time for businesses to adjust is also a priority.鈥� Further, by engaging the campus on this issue right now, she hopes to help ease the transition away from the heavy usage of disposable plastics.

She predicts that upcoming government policies will impact the food vendors on campus even more, further limiting the use of plastic cutlery, plates, stir sticks, bags, beverage carriers and straws. And, to achieve compliance with the upcoming regulation, U荔枝视频 must transition.